Interview with Alejandro D’ Marco
Alejandro D’Marco is an outstanding photo manipulation artist, focused on dark and obscure themes. With a filmmaking background and a childhood spent working in a hospital, Alejandro developed an understanding of the human nature far beyond any conventional digital artists. He lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina and we welcome him to our site.
HMA: How did you get involved in the art world and why is your subject matter so visceral?
Alejandro D’Marco: Almost 3 years ago my friend Jimmy Ce and I where about to do a short film that had lots of green screens and photo manipulation, so I decided to learn how to do it, by myself, and along the way I realized that with photo manipulation I could do artistic work, not only make photos look “pretty”. I was looking for a new way to express myself and found out that I enjoyed a lot the process of manipulating photos, and spent lots of time learning, mutating, deforming common elements and transforming them into dark images. I’m a very shy person, so I use my art to channel my feelings and sensations like pain, wraith, death, sadness and so on.
HMA: In your work we find the human body tortured and in an agonizing condition, what are the sources of your inspirations?
Alejandro D’Marco: I believe there are two main sources of inspiration on my work. When I was a kid my father worked at a Hospital; I used to go with him to work, and I believe that I absorbed that environment; I was surrounded by sick people and I could see the pain in their faces and bodies.
The other is horror and sci-fy movies made from the 40’s to the 80’s, in particular Poe’s adaptations with Vincent Price, Dario Argento’s films and Hammer’s productions.
HMA: Music and the visual arts often are merged to enhance the experience, what is your opinion on this matter?
Alejandro D’Marco: I think that music is really important for making my art and to enjoy others works. I work better at night listening to dark ambient music, Artesia, Alan Parsons Project and Loreena McKennitt. The music helps me relax and images flow more easily.
I also believe that to make the most of an art exhibition, you must have a special kind of music for every piece, in order to enhace the experience. The combination on the music and the visual in the movie “The Wall” is overwhelming.
HMA: As it is often the case with artist we feature on Heavy Music Artwork, your approach is extremely complex and detailed, how did you reach this level of proficiency?
Alejandro D’Marco: Experimenting for hours and hours until sunrise. Trying things by myself. Making mistakes. Is like they old saying says: “One percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration”.
HMA: Have you done work for the music industry?
Alejandro D’Marco: Not yet. I did do art for some books and DVD covers for friends working in the independent art scene?
HMA: From our prospective your work is very much in line with a lot of Heavy Metal cover art. Is Heavy Metal an art form that you are interested in and you interested to work with music artists?
Alejandro D’Marco: I always liked vinyl cover art and it’s huge size. Regarding Heavy Metal covers, I really like the work done by Derek Riggs for Iron Maiden, and the ones from Vincent Locke for Cannibal Corpse. The art made by Riggs for the Number of the Beast is still mesmerizing to me. I believe that it must be an interesting challenge to translate the essence of a music band into an art piece.
HMA: What are your immediate and future artistic goals?
Alejandro D’Marco: Keep on learning and experimenting, being able to express my feelings and thoughts into my art reaching deeper and deeper into myself, and dedicate myself to this full time.
HMA: What is in your operating art table right now, what are you working on?
Alejandro D’Marco: I recently finished a piece based on Florence Marly’s character in the movie “Queen of Blood” (1966), in which she plays a space vampire; her face and her hairdo always fascinated me, so I decided to do my own vision of her.
HMA: Do you have any exhibitions or special events programmed for the future?
Alejandro D’Marco: I have no plans in that area yet. I believe I still have a long way to go to achieve the level of proficiency that I need in order to make my art. My process is to work for a few nights, rest a day and then keep going. Maybe next year I’ll be able to gather a fair amount of pieces that I really love and then make and exhibit in and independent environment.
HMA: Thanks so much for your time and for being involved in Heavy Music Artwork.
Alejandro D’Marco: Well, I’m thankful for your interest in my work and in taking the time to make this interview. I really appreciate feedback, so I always like people to see my works in deviantart and comment on them.
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